Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
by Daelena
Summary: Henry may have talked her out of leaving Storybrooke, but it's up to Archie to help her stay this time. Archie/Emma established relationship. Minor language.


Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

_Disclaimer__: Yep, I don't own a thing here. I'm merely playing in this sandbox, hoping that it'll become reality someday._

_Summary__: Henry may have talked her out of leaving Storybrooke, but it's up to Archie to help her stay this time. Archie/Emma established relationship. Minor language._

_This has been bouncing around my brain for the last day or so and it fits perfectly into how "Once Upon A Time" is panning out for this season, especially with the latest episode being what it was. As such, like so many other things, it demanded that I write it down and share it, so here we are._

_I know it's been a while since I've written a "Once Upon A Time" fic, but I hope you can forgive that, since I bring an offering of Archie and Emma adorableness. _

_And now, what you've all been waiting for – the story!_

Emma was shaking with so much pent-up emotion and energy. It had been one hell of a day – two days, she realized belatedly, her eyes flicking towards the clock in the car, which blaringly told her that it was now five minutes past two o'clock in the morning. Damn early in the morning and she couldn't bring herself to go home yet, choosing, instead, to drive aimlessly around Storybrooke in a valiant effort to burn off some of her energy.

And, because going home meant having to face Archie and owning up to what had gone down today.

She knew that she was not ready for that, not yet anyway. Emma needed more time to clear her head and to collect her thoughts before she face Archie. It was going to be a hard thing to get through and, by damn, she was going to need her wits about her for it.

By whatever grace of whatever higher power was out there in the universe, Henry was a smart, sane, rational kid. Emma had no idea where he got that from because, until he had talked her down from that admittedly stupid idea of the pair of them running away from Storybrooke, Archie, Regina, and their lives there, they had been on the same page – most of the time. Emma still didn't buy the whole fairy tale thing, but Henry's beliefs weren't hurting him. After all, he had been very right in pointing out that, as far as the law was concerned, Regina was his legal mother and she would technically be kidnapping him.

He was too smart for his own good sometimes.

That being said, her son wasn't that hard to read either. She had seen the anger and the hurt in his eyes when she had dropped him off at Regina's house.

Which was the other reason why she hadn't gone home yet.

She hadn't worked out her emotions enough to talk to anyone yet. Her head was a jumble of thoughts, feelings, and overwhelming frustration at one August Booth.

Damn writer.

It was only fitting that he bought into Henry's belief about Storybrooke being the haven of fairy tale characters and that she was the only one who could save them. Emma didn't want that, any of it. All she wanted to do was to connect with (and possibly get back) her kid and to pursue the relationship that she was so tentatively creating with Archie.

Her stomach turned for not the first time as she thought about her bashful, lovable, trust-worthy, dependable, so intelligent, adorable boyfriend.

Archie was, no doubt, waiting up for her, despite the fact that he had meetings in the morning, concerned for her well-being. Emma had turned off her cell and she hadn't been back to the Sheriff's Office since she had gone to pick up Henry.

Exhaustion nipped at the corners of her eyes, alerting her to how late – or early – it actually was.

Parking her beloved yellow Bug in the nearest open spot quickly and neatly, Emma yawned and leaned forward to rest her forehead on the top of the steering wheel. She silently cursed herself. Archie was probably mad at her and he had every right to be. Emma had pretty much cut him out in her hell-bent desire to get Henry out of Storybrooke. She hadn't even stopped to consider Archie, her boyfriend who, despite all of her best intentions, she found herself falling in love with more and more.

Tears sprung to her eyes. Emma didn't bother to wipe them away, letting them fall free down her face.

She was a horrible, selfish person!

No sane person would up and walk out on someone who they professed to love. It was not fair, not in the slightest and Archie didn't deserve to be treated like that. He was just too good of a man to have to deal with someone who didn't want to stick around to try and make it work between them.

A knock sounded at her window. Emma jumped up in surprise, eyes wide now, looking to her left to see who caused the noise.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Slowly, she pulled herself out of the car, noticing how concerned Archie looked. He was frowning and the lines on his face were so pronounced, just as they always were when he got into this state. She had expected to see steel and anger in his eyes, but there wasn't any of that. No, for whatever reason, Archie was not mad at her – at least not yet. Emma had a sickening feeling that he would be, soon enough.

"Henry called," Archie began, after a few seconds of silence passed, "about an hour and a half ago. You were thinking about leaving?"

Emma bit her lip.

Archie knew and, still, he didn't sound angry at her. For a moment, she marveled at the complexity of the man in front of her. Whenever she thought she had him figured out, Archie found a new way to surprise her.

"Yeah," she confirmed, nodding her head and not quite meeting his eyes. "I don't know what I was thinking – well, actually, I do know."

"And?"

He was in psychologist mode now.

She sighed, knowing that she had to be totally honest with him. "All I could think about was getting Henry away from Regina, away from this town. August – God, that man! – he kept telling me that the magic was real, that I was the savior, that I had to start accepting that fact and seeing the magic in Henry's book." Emma looked up at Archie. "I just snapped. I needed to get away from it, the book, this town, and I wanted Henry with me. How could I have been so stupid and selfish?"

"It was irrational, yes, but you weren't just thinking about yourself," he said, sympathetically, giving her a reassuring look. Archie gently patted her shoulder, a comforting and warm action that was so definitely hi that it almost broke Emma's heart. "You were thinking about Henry and the love between a mother and a son can be an overwhelming one. It clouded the rational part of your brain."

Emma sniffed.

"You want to know the worst part, Archie?"

He heard the pain and the self-deprecation in her voice and yet Archie still nodded. "Tell me, Emma."

"I didn't even think about telling you until after Henry had talked me into not leaving." She was really crying now. "I just . . . forgot and it's killing me that you, someone I love, trust, and really care about, didn't even register in my brain. What does that say about me?"

Her boyfriend looked down at his feet for a few moments before looking back up at her.

"I can't tell you that, Emma."

Pain laced through his voice. Archie, the best person she knew, was hurting because of her own stupidity and Emma was mentally kicking herself for causing that.

She had royally screwed this one up.

"You have every right to be mad at me and hate me for what I did, Archie," Emma said, cautiously. "I mean, leaving Storybrooke in the middle of the night with Hednry is an idiotic idea in every sense of the word. And, on top of that, I didn't even call, at any point, to let you know where I was." She glanced down at her watch. "It's two-thirty in the morning and you're out here, confronting me on my bullshit and my issues, when you have every right to break up with me, kick me out, and never speak to me again." She ran a hand through her hair, laughing darkly. "Shit, you're good, doing this now, when no one is watching."

And that was when Emma saw the same courage and the same backbone that stood up to Regina all those months ago, after he and Henry had been trapped in the sinkhole.

"Emma, listen to me," he said, slowly and clearly, "I'm not breaking up with you because you had a bad day and did something supremely stupid."

"At least we can agree there," Emma added.

Archie raised a hand and cut her off.

"Let me finish, please," he asked. She nodded mutely. "I'm not breaking up with you, Emma. I love you too much. When Henry called me and told me what happened and how upset you were, all I could think about was getting to you." He gently reached up and cupped her cheek with a hand. "I didn't want you to be alone, not now, not in this moment. I've been out ever since, trying to find you."

"You have?"

He nodded. "Storybrooke is bigger than it seems," Archie said. "It took a while but, lucky for me, you drive the only yellow Bug in the whole town."

"Why?"

A little smile crossed his lips.

"So I could do this."

Archie wrapped his arms around her and pulled Emma into a tight, warm embrace. She was surprised, to say the least, but Archie's hug was not unwelcomed, not in the slightest. Emma returned his hug with equal force and equal emotion.

"I am so sorry, Archie," she whispered, burying her head into her shoulder. "Is there anything that I can do to make it up to you?"

His eyes were sparkling beneath his glasses when he pulled back.

"Promise me that the next time you irrationally want to leave Storybrooke, you give me a call first," he requested. "That way, I have enough time to pack us both a travel bag because, if you leave, I'm going with you."

Emma nodded, giving him a small smile.

"I think I can agree to that."

"Good." She yawned deeply now and Archie rubbed his eyes. Exhaustion was getting the better of the both of them now. "Let's go home, Emma," he said.

"That sounds good to me," she replied.

And, leaving her beloved vehicle where it was parked in front of Granny's, to be picked up and moved at a more reasonable hour, they walked, hand in hand, back home, both knowing that this was just a speed bump in their relationship, one that they were getting over together. Because, come the morning, they would deal with the fall-out from Regina, but Emma knew that she wasn't going to have to do it alone, that she was never going to have to do it alone.

Archie was there for her and he always would be.

That alone was more than enough of a reason to stay exactly where she was and build something of a life for herself here.

_A bit sappy and romantic at the ending, but was it worth it? You know how much I love and appreciate your reviews, so, please, send them in – in great numbers, if you have to! The more the merrier, I believe._

_I hope that I'll be able to put up another Archie/Emma story soon, but we'll have to see how the rest of the season goes at this point. After all, we only have two more episodes left in the season, so we've got that build-up happening. I can only hope that my humble little stories fit into show canon as well as they possibly can. _


End file.
